Saturday, August 26, 2017

Ziva - Painting of a Doberman Pinscher

This is Ziva.    She is a gentle kind girl with the most beautiful brown eyes. 
http://www.dawnsecord.com

I met her owners probably 7 years ago when creating another painting of a different dog for them.   We met in the LA area and they did not have their dog with them.  Fortunately, a few months later, I would be traveling in Northern California.   We were able to met up so I could photograph their dog.

Jumping ahead several years, now it was Ziva's turn for her painting.   We met up in Palm Springs where I could take photos of Ziva.   She truly is a breathtaking girl - I fell in love with her.   We took numerous photos of her for reference material.  It was a difficult choice to pick a primary pose - Ziva is quite photogenic.   The photo chosen was not an ideal photo of her ears being up and alert.   The other reference photos allowed me to see different ear positions so the ear position could be changed in the painting.  Also, there were some really circular highlights on her coat that were distracting in the painting.  They were first painted in, but later I took them out.  They just looked odd.  My eye didn't question the highlights in the photos.  But, in the painting, it just wasn't right and needed to be adjusted.  Lastly, there was a significant shadow cast on her chest from her muzzle that didn't need to be in the painting.   Photos are just a road map for me to get to "that" dog's painting but I am most certainly not attempting to copy a photo.   My paintings have to be better than the photo or why have a painting.
http://www.dawnsecord.com/commissioninformation.html


The painting was finished several months ago.   It is always wonderful to ship the paintings to those who commissioned the work, but sad for the painting to leave my studio.   It is funny, they are like my children.   My heart is is every painting.

My normal system is to display the finished painting in my office for a week or two to clear my head.   I then take time to view the painting and make sure nothing jumps out that would need an adjustment.   It is amazing how a fresh eye can reveal things that previously went unnoticed.  So much time is spent with each painting, it seems like I simply become too familiar with the piece.   A clean fresh eye is a great chance for me to do a double take.   More often than not, no changes are needed.  Once in a while something jumps out that may need a little tweak.

Thank you to Ziva's family for having me paint for you again.   It is an honor.

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